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Blog

SACRAMENTO- On Tuesday, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a historic proposal to limit carbon pollution from new power plants in an effort to clean up our air, and curb global warming pollution.

Carbon pollution is a big contributer to global warming and poor air quality. According to the LA Times, "Power plants, which are responsible for 40% of the nation's output of carbon dioxide, are the single greatest stationary source of such emissions." And the thing about air pollution is that even if a coal-fired power plant on the east coast is the one spewing carbon and other greenhouse gases into the air, we're affected by it here in California.

There are two very real-life reasons why Californians should be 100% behind this proposal to limit carbon pollution.

California beaches are already being affected by global warming.

And 1 in 6 of our kids in California has asthma. Tens of thousands of these cases are attributed to poor air quality.

Just in the past week, The New York Times and the Sacramento Bee have reported on how global warming will affect California and its beaches. Sandy bluffs near San Francisco have already collapsed into the ocean, never to regenerate. Global warming, augmented by human pollution from power plants and fossil fuels, is changing the face of California.

Beyond California's beaches and ocean economy being in peril, our kids are getting sick from our poor air quality. According to a collabrative group called Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP), 1 in 6 kids in California has asthma. That's over 1.5 million kids. Nationally, the CDC estimates that 7 million children have asthma. Putting a limit on carbon pollution is a necessary step toward cleaning up our air for our kids and for public health.